Liborina is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, located in the Western subregion of the

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

. It borders the municipalities of Sabanalarga, San Andrés de Cuerquia, and San José de la Montaña to the north; San José de la Montaña and

Belmira Belmira is a town and municipality in the northern subregion of the Colombian department of Antioquia. It is approximately 62 km from the city of Medellin. It lies at an altitude of 2,550 m (8,370 ft) above sea level. Climate Belmira has ...

to the east;

Santa Fe de Antioquia Santa Fe de Antioquia is a municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. The city is located approximately north of Medellín, the department capital. The population was 23,216 at the 2018 census. History Founded in 1541 by Jorge Robled ...

and Olaya to the south; and Buriticá to the west. Its town center is 80 kilometers via

Sopetrán Sopetrán is a municipality of Colombia, located in the subregion west of the state of Antioquia. It is bounded to the north by the municipality of Olaya, to the east by the municipality of Belmira, to the south by the municipalities of San Jer ...

and 77 kilometers via Santa Fe de Antioquia (only accessible by motorcycles) from

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, the capital of Antioquia. The municipality covers an area of 217 square kilometers and is connected by road to the municipalities of Sabanalarga, San José de la Montaña, Belmira, Olaya, and Buriticá.

Toponymy

Liborina was named to honor the memory of former

Colombian President The president of Colombia (President of the Republic) is the head of state and head of government of Colombia. The president heads the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Military Forces of Colomb ...

Liborio Mejía Liborio Mejía Gutiérrez (July 28, 1792 – September 3, 1816) was a Colombian colonel and politician during the struggle for Independence from Spain, and in 1816 Liborio Mejía became president of the United Provinces of the New Granada making ...

, a hero of the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of these lands.

Geography

The main water source is the Juan García stream, which flows through the municipality from NE to SW. In ancient times, it was called Nutabe or Tajami. There are two versions regarding its current name: the first and more likely one is in honor of the aforementioned Spanish captain, and the second is due to a criminal named Juan García who, in his final attempt to evade the authorities, jumped into the

Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangué in Bolívar Department, an ...

at the stream's mouth, successfully escaping. The Juan García watershed includes other streams such as La Pava, El Volador, La Peñola, La Porquera, and Juan Barriga. Liborina is known for its "Liborino" beans, which have given the municipality its reputation and even have a festival held in their honor every November. Nestled in the mountains, it is a hot-weather destination pleasantly tempered by the coolness of its streams and the shade of its trees.

History

The lands that now make up this municipality were inhabited by

Nutabe The Nutabe (or "Nutabae") are an indigenous people who inhabit the department of Antioquia in Colombia. Their numbers began to plummet around the first half of the 16th century due to the European colonization of the Americas. Spanish records indi ...

and Tahamí communities at the time of the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

, who fiercely defended themselves against

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

invaders. After the arrival of the

Iberians The Iberians (, from , ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...

and the defeat of the indigenous people, nothing of major historical significance occurred there. It is known that around 1541, Jorge Robledo passed through the region with his fellow conquerors but continued on. The lands of Liborina were granted to Francisco López de Rue in 1582, who later sold them to Francisco Arce, who in turn sold them to a Spanish captain named Juan García de Ordaz y Mancilla in 1628. Some of the areas in this jurisdiction still bear the name Juan García. Liborina was founded on March 7, 1832, and on September 25 of the same year, the procedures for the creation of the parish and its separation from Sacaojal were carried out. It was established as a municipality in 1833, when the then governor of Antioquia, Juan de Dios Aranzazu, ordered the creation of the municipality in the lands of present-day Liborina. Don Vicente Londoño, one of the municipality's founders, was the first mayor and commissioner, contributing his own economic resources to the construction of houses and the market fair. The first priest was Father Manuel Tirado Villa.

General Information

* Foundation Date: March 7, 1832 * Municipality Establishment: 1833 * Founders: Vicente Londoño, Jorge Martínez, and Rafael Pajón * Nickname: "Town of Squares"

Political-Administrative Division

In addition to its main urban area, Liborina has jurisdiction over the following corregimientos (according to the departmental management): * El Carmen de la Venta * La Honda * La Merced del Playón * San Diego

Demography

Historical Population: * 1912: 5,653 * 1938: 8,780 (+55.3%) * 1951: 10,073 (+14.7%) * 1964: 11,729 (+16.4%) * 1973: 11,494 (-2.0%) * 1985: 11,031 (-4.0%) * 1993: 10,972 (-0.5%) * 2005: 9,475 (-13.6%) * 2018: 10,028 (+5.8%) Total Population (2018): 10,028 inhabitants * Urban Population: 2,296 * Rural Population: 7,732 * Literacy Rate (2005): 85.6% * Urban Area: 90.6% * Rural Area: 84.4%

Ethnography

According to the 2005 census data presented by DANE, the ethnic composition of the municipality is: * Mestizos & Whites (92.8%) * Afro-Colombians (7.1%) * Indigenous (0.1%)

Economy

* Agriculture: Coffee, beans, sugar cane, panela, corn, bananas, vegetables, and fruits are primarily grown here. The district is famous for a special variety of beans developed in the region, the Liborino Bean. * Livestock: Beef and dairy cattle. * Mining * Handicrafts: Production of shoes and whips.

Tourism

Hidroituango Project: Liborina is one of the municipalities involved in the Hidroituango hydroelectric project, finished in 2018. The reservoir floods part of its lands on the right bank of the Cauca River. Additionally, the municipality plans to develop small hydroelectric projects (PCH). Initially, the PCH Liborina will be built for electricity generation, with an installed capacity of 4.9 MW, capturing the waters of the Juan García stream through a small dam, a conduit, and a powerhouse located in the San Diego corregimiento.Liborina le informa

Festivals

* Feast of San Lorenzo, August 10. * Bean Festival in November. * Holy Week in March or April.

Points of Interest

* Parish Church of San Lorenzo * Corregimiento La Honda: The Cross, La Honda Stream, the Virgin of Mercy, La Palomera. * San Diego: A few minutes from the municipal center, a town surrounded by mountains with a pleasant climate, good gastronomy, and ideal for nightlife, especially on weekends. Also, for bathing in natural pools and hiking or horseback riding.

Natural Heritage

* Juan García Stream, considered the most turbulent in the Antioquia department. * Angelina Bridge * La Canalón Stream * Cerro de La Cruz * La Merced del Playón, a town with colonial streets surrounded by beautiful landscapes.

Notable People

* Cesar Maturana * Jorge David Monsalve

References

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